The present invention relates generally to cable making, and specifically to a method for sealing the ends of electrical cable.
In the continuous production of electrical cable, spools and other cable collection devices reach maximum capacity necessitating severance of the cable resulting in exposed conductors at each end. During further processing and storage, if these ends remain exposed, the entire length of cable is subject to deterioration due to ingress of contaminants such as moisture. For this reason, cable proceducers have developed numerous methods of sealing the cable ends including the use of tape, wax dip, plastisol dip, pressure caps, heat shrinking materials and other methods listed in subclass 77 of U.S. Pat. class 174.
These prior methods have been relatively cumbersome, time consuming, expensive and ineffective. One particularly aggravating problem with prior art systems is their inability to seal the cable end nearest the core of the spool because that cable end is often not readily accessible. One apparent alternative method of sealing the cable end nearest the spool core is to seal it before the cable is collected on the spool, but this is impossible because both cable ends must be exposed after collection on a spool in order to test the length of cable.